Yay Summer!

The great thing that blogs bring to students can be explained as followed, “Self-expression must pass into communication for its fulfillment.” –Pearl S. Buck. This quote is exactly what some blogs were about for me. Over the past school year I have learned that blogs, although a seemingly tedious extra assignment to be the icing on my cupcake of projects to complete each week, can actually be very helpful as a way to express myself while also being productive and on task with school work. Unfortunately, I didn’t discover this until recently, and in my blogs it is apparent that some blogs meant more to me. I think what I liked best, is that we didn’t get feedback, so no one could tell me that my thoughts, ideas, and interpretations of anything to everything were wrong, but I still knew my peers would have access to my blog, so it made me strive for quality more. I was able to say was I thought, and not get judged on whether my opinion agreed with my peers’ or my teacher’s.

The blogs I was able to enjoy most were the ones that asked my opinion and didn’t have strict guidelines, compared to the ones that asked me to analyze something and need certain structure. Mr. Eggers sheds some light on the tremendous impact self expression can have on a student in this short passage, “The key thing is, even if you only have a couple of hours a month, those two hours shoulder-to-shoulder, next to one student, concentrated attention, shining this beam of light on their work, on their thoughts and their self-expression, is going to be absolutely transformative, because so many of the students have not had that ever before.” -Dave Eggers. Although it is a great thing to learn how to express your thoughts in a plethora of ways, including in structured writing, people need a way of self expression, but many often don’t recognize how to do so. That is why blogging could be very beneficial to a student who didn’t discover the wonderful world of writing about their own thoughts and opinions on their own.

“Olivia’s English Blog” has definitely been a good tool I could use to help me brainstorm, learn, and grow as a writer. It was also a helpful resource to look back at when typing essays. The blog not only helped me learn more interesting ways to convey my message, but I was able to take pride in my work, which helped me realize the importance of enjoying what I do, and even if I don’t enjoy doing something, making it something I am proud of. So not only did the blog help me develop, grow and absorb information as a writer, it also helped shape me as a person. There is something awesome about going back and looking at my work, being able to see my own thoughts and opinions from before, along with my writing style and, shall we say, lack of vocabulary. I have learned a lot from my first year of high school, and I am glad that I gritted my teeth and did the blogs, because it has certainly paid off in the end to be able to reflect on my progress not only in English class, but in 

other classes as well and how I have mentally aged as a person.

THE END.

Favorite assignment

There have been loads of assignments this year that I could choose my favorite one is the last blog called "A Good Experience with Poetry." Maybe it's because it is most fresh in my mind, but I thoroughly enjoyed completing this blog. The assignment was to "consider my poetry background" and "write several paragraphs on how it positively affected" my life. And then I had to share about how I feel about poetry now.
I really enjoyed this assignment because it was the first time I connected with what I was writing about, and I felt purpose when writing the blog post. One contribution to why I may have liked this particular post could be that I finished it on a Wednesday, when far too often I finish blogs on Saturdays, but I don't think that was the main reason. I really got to voice my opinion while writing and I felt like I accomplished something when I was done. I liked that I finally was able to express my own thoughts and emotions in my work, instead of what I was supposed to write about and someone else's ideas.
Another key reason that I enjoyed this assignment so much was that ever since I seem to be writing poetry far more often. Before the post I wrote a poem her and there. I was stressed out beyond belief and I felt overloaded with everything going on in my life. But now that I am writing at least a poem a day I feel much more serene. This post gave me the opportunity to find something that helps me think more clearly. I am grateful for the assignment, because finding a better way to express myself has made all the difference.

POETRY.

Shel Silverstein was basically how I was introduced to poetry. Of course when I was even younger I heard nursery rhymes, but I didn't recognize them as "poetry".  But Shel Silverstein was my gateway into the world of poets. His words were fun and silly and just made me feel better about myself. Although poetry is far too often dark and intense (and that can be a good thing) I miss reading the fun careless words of Mr. Silverstein that made me enjoy my child hood.

I was in second grade, Mrs. Ryan's class. We all lined up in the pod and everyone was "shhh"ing each other, which was only making it louder. It was everyones' favorite time of the week: time to go to the library. Along with everyone else I gathered around Mrs. People's chair scrambling to get that perfect spot on the carpet next to the bookcase and all my friends. I sat there, leaning against the book case, waiting for Mrs. Peoples to excuse us so I could go read my favorite book to cuddle up with in the library. When she let us go my best friend and I "briskly walked" over to the section by the big metal book stairs that had Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends we climbed to the top of the book tower, and plopped down, knowing we were in for twenty minutes of giggles and pure joy, soaking in the very beginning of a whole new world of poetry. 

I knew nothing of prose, allusions, iambic pentameter, or onomatopoeia. All I knew is Where the Sidewalk Ends was so popular that no one was aloud to check it out anymore. And I knew reading it just made me feel better and sent me home from school with a smile on my face. It was funny, it rhymed, and some of the poems were long (to a second grader), some were short, and some were just right, like my favorite "Spaghetti." It was funny, it rhymed, it sort of used repetition, and "pasketty" was just my favorite food. I had the page number memorized, and knew exactly where to find it. The poems in Where The Sidewalk Ends were funny, clever, and made me happy. There was a variety to choose from, each with its own individual tale and way to make me read, think, and laugh all at the same time.

I love writing poetry; on weekends, during winter break, spring break, and from 2:37pm to 8:00am on week days. Writing a cute little rhyme can be a fun way to surprise a friend, or a good way to remember something important, or it can be my way to release all of my energy and thoughts onto a piece of paper, or a napkin even. When I write a poem it is like the weight of the world is being lifted off my shoulders. It takes away all of the bad feelings inside me, and leaves me refreshed with a clear mind. But when you mix school with poetry it takes all the fun out of it for me. I don't like reading poetry if I don't personally know the author, because there isn't much I can do about their aching soul. Also one poem can have a plethora of meanings, so when a teacher says "No, Olivia, what the author is actually getting at is ______." it may open my mind to a different view of the poem, but no one can really be wrong in poems' meanings. When writing poetry in school my poems aren't very good because I don't like to share my personal expression of my thoughts and feelings with my class mates or my teacher. Poetry is a personal thing, and when you have to turn it in or assign it that takes away from the privacy of ones thoughts and emotions.

R&J Conflict.

There's a variety of conflicts I could choose from the play, but Juliet's internal conflict and the choice she has to make between her family and her "true love" Romeo are most intriguing and relate able. "My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain, and Tybalt's dead, that would have slain my husband." (3.2.115) Juliet is leaning more towards Romeo, for she know Tybalt would have killed him, and her love for him is clouding her judgement. Romeo is a murderer now, and Juliet's intense love for him put's her in harms way. Even though Romeo  killed Tybalt, Juliet still chooses him over her family because she is in love.
This example of conflict in Romeo and Juliet is very similar to many teenagers' lives, but not so specific. At this age many kids are choosing to spend more time with friends and less with family. Now, we know that we could just stay home and help out our parents instead of going out every night with our friends. But we are gaining more freedom, and able to choose what we do more often, and who we do it with. Just as Juliet is choosing Romeo over her family.

Romeo and Juliet: It's in West Side Story

West Side Story was created by Aurthur Laurents in the '50's. The comparison is almost exact to Romeo and Juliet, except Maria lives on.
West Side Story is a musical about Maria and Tony's love. The two fall in love almost instantly, just as R&J. There is even a scene where Tony goes to Maria's fire escape to talk to her after he first met her (shown below). Maria and Tony are from two different families in rival gangs, the jets and the sharks. Tony is the only one who dies, and he is killed by someone in a fight, but he wasn't fighting very hard since he thought Maria was dead, and wanted to die because he couldn't live without her. At the end, although Maria's body was still alive, something inside her died when Tony died in his arms. His death did, though, bring the Jets and Sharks together just like Romeo and Juliet want their families to do. In the 50's when this musical was made, I don't know if Laurents' purpose was to create a modern day R&J, but he did just that very successfully in the tear jerking West Side Story as anyone could see with the plot almost perfectly fitting that of the play by Shakespeare.

So far, I haven't directly related too much with the events of the book, other than two. But something I think everyone can relate with is getting help from the people we are closest with. Romeo shares his love problems with Mercutio and Benvolio, and they give him pretty good advice, which is to move on. Maybe it wasn't this exact scenario, but I have been in a position to give my friends advice on what to do, and I've of course asked them for advice as well. I think the relationship between his friends is very important for Romeo. The two guys kind of pull Romeo's head out of the clouds and just want him to enjoy his life. Romeo is lucky to have good friends such as these. To go along with the theme of feuding families, Romeo and Juliet are caught in the disagreements between their parents. I'm sure other people than myself have also been caught between to fighting parties, and not sure what to do. The story of the Montagues and the Capulets is relate-able on a variety of levels for many people, these are just the ones that fit to my life.
Reading in class sure does take up time, but it helps me a lot! I read at home every night and even though it's hard to decipher sometimes, I get the main things that happened in that scene. However, the humor isn't very clear until we read it in class, so the in class reading is helping me stay interested in the book by giving me a laugh. I usually read the scene, and then go back and read the left side pages. That helps me understand the context and it makes more sense. When we read in class I find even more things that can be more clear. It's showing me that every word Shakespeare wrote in this book means something, and helps me follow the storyline a lot better and keeps me interested.

Great Expectations All Wrapped Up. Last week :)

I think it's a sort of universal experience for someone to be lost in their life for an amount of time, like trying to find your true self. Charles Dickens uses Pip's family and friends to show how the story usually goes. A good example of this is most peoples' teenage years. The kind of generic story is kids saying to their parents "Just leave me alone." Which, I've never really seen or done that, but I've definitely felt it! When some one is trying to go off on their own and try to understand them self better, and they become lost, or get into trouble, what they need most is not to be alone, but to be around the people who know them the best and are the closest with. I think Dickens was probably realizing that the best time periods in his life were not filled with solitude, but swarmed with family and friends. In general, people tend to feel better when they know that there is a net to catch them when they fall, or friends to share laughs with, because laughing by yourself isn't that fun.The key message within Great Expectations is that friends and family make tough times better, and good times great.